Survival of businesses is important to a country due to the immense contribution they make towards the economy. SMEs have been identified as a sector that is more vulnerable to crises. Thus, it is vital to explore the factors that make SMEs vulnerable to crises. This phenomenological study used the social constructivism approach to investigate the factors that make SMEs more vulnerable to crisis, particularly tourism SMEs. The sample consisted of 19 tourism SMEs that were purposively selected from the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and through the theoretical lens of resilience theory. The themes identified as factors that tourism SME sector is more vulnerable to crisis due to its dependence on unskilled employees, for being mostly home based, the seasonal nature, and a crisis-prone industry. The findings of this study may assist SME entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to arm themselves by adopting proactive measures to deal with crises.